The Hill News

Last week, the House Armed Services Committee heard from General David Petraeus on operations in Afghanistan. While the context of the hearing focused generally on the overall operations on the ground, there is one area in particular that often gets overlooked in the larger debate on national security efforts abroad â€" energy security.

Energy efficiency is often framed as an environmental issue, but it is first and foremost a national security issue. The Department of Defense (DoD) is the world’s largest consumer of energy. Not only does petroleum-based fuel impact military budgets, the DoD’s reliance on fossil fuel creates great risks to troops involved in refueling operations in conflict areas like Afghanistan. DoD officials reported that in June 2008, 220,000 gallons of fuel, and the trucks carrying it, were lost due to attacks or other events. There is nearly one American casualty for every 24 fuel convoys that resupply troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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